Joe GuzzardiPenn State University students’ priorities are out of order

Two weeks ago, thousands of Penn State University students
rioted over head football coach Joe Paterno's firing. But unless
you live in Pennsylvania, you probably don't know that in February,
when Penn State regents announced a 10th tuition increase in 10
years, only about 150 students out of 40,000 protested. During the
last decade, Penn State tuition has nearly doubled to $15,000 for
instate students.

One of the broad objectives of a college education is to learn
the difference between what's important (sharply higher tuition
that forces some students to drop out and precludes others from
applying) and what's not (who coaches the football team).

What students at Penn State and elsewhere should also be focused
on is why, even after paying more money every year, they can't find
a job after they graduate. To understand what's led to their
looming unemployed status, students would have to buck political
correctness.

The major factors that have contributed to 9 percent
unemployment are Republican and Democratic political
miscalculations that have dried up domestic jobs by sending them
overseas while, at the same time, importing foreign-born workers on
non-immigrant visas.

Although it's difficult to put an exact figure on how many jobs
have been outsourced, one thing is certain: The Department of Labor
grossly underestimates the total, which is likely in the tens of
millions.

Since 1970, when consumer electronics manufacturers first sent
basic assembly tasks abroad, outsourcing has become an increasingly
popular corporate cost saving strategy. These jobs that include
positions ranging in importance from airline maintenance to
handling phone inquiries at credit card call centers are gone for
good. For corporate America, doing business abroad is simply more
lucrative. In the unlikely event that Congress might reconsider the
adverse impact outsourcing has on American workers, the
multinational companies have their lobbyists on retainer ready to
remind them who funds their campaigns.

At precisely the same time that jobs have disappeared overseas,
the federal government invited millions of foreign-born nationals
to the United States and facilitated their arrival with a variety
of non-immigrant visas, the most popular of which are the H-1B and
the J-1 work visas.

The dire consequences of a liberal immigration policy vis a vis
employment should be — but is not — readily apparent to anyone
smart enough to get into a four-year university. For every work
permit, automatically included with most non-immigrant visas, an
American job is at risk.

Northeastern University Professor Andrew Sum, who directs the
Center for Labor Market Studies, calculated that the impact of
legal and illegal immigration on American workers is disastrous.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2008 to 2010, the
1.1 million new migrants who entered America during that three-year
period landed jobs even as U.S. household employment declined by
6.26 million over that same period. Said Sum: "Employers have
chosen to use new immigrants over native-born workers and have
continued to displace large numbers of blue-collar workers and
young adults ..."

Ironically, Penn State actively recruits J-1 and H-1B visa
holders and offers, through its Global Connections' program, to
teach new arrivals English and provide them with tax
assistance.

Good luck to anyone trying to make clear to students the
connection between more immigration and fewer jobs. The longer
students ignore the obvious, the harder it will be for them to
become gainfully employed.

Joe Guzzardi retired from the Lodi Unified School District
in 2008. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.